finger and splinter

I know this is random, but has anyone ever had a splinter in their finger and then the finger turn red, hard and very warm to touch?

This happened 3 days ago and although the swelling has gone down some, it's still red and hurts and is warm to touch. The middle part of the finger is still hard, but the top part of the finger (where the fingerprint is) is not hard anymore. I've been soaking it for the past 3 days. Wonder what else I should be doing? My mom says to just keep soaking it. Does it just take time? The reason for asking, it's my right hand and I have nerve damage in my left hand so it's hard to do some normal daily things. Here is a pic from today but I don't think it shows up all that well. It's my ring finger (the 1st one in the pic)

My kids refuse to keep shoes on during the summer and we live in the country where they regularly clamber around rock piles, climb trees, and build forts in the woods. As a result, I'm always taking splinters and slivers out of my kids feet. Some have gone unnoticed until they get infected. We usually just use a needle to get the splinter out and soak the wound in epsom salt water once or twice a day til the inflammation goes away. Takes a few days to a week depending on how infected the spot got. Yours sounds like it's just inflamed and if soaking it regularly is helping, then I'd say you are doing the right thing. It might be taking extra time to heal if you didn't get the whole splinter out and there's still a bit in there. If the original splinter site looks like a pimple, it wouldn't hurt to take a sanitized needle and open it up to drain and you should see a big improvement in healing. However, if you notice red lines moving towards your wrist, get to the dr right away because that means you have a blood infection that needs treating ASAP.

Thanks. I've had splinters before, but once I get them out, that's it. I don't usually have pain or swelling or hardness, or even redness. So this is a new one for me. I can see where it went in, but it hasn't developed any pimple looking anything. And the redness has started to travel around my finger, but no streaks or anything. I'll keep soaking and hopefully it'll be better in a few more days. Just driving me nuts not being able to close my hand all the way.

I'm fairly certain I got it out. It was really long and bled for a bit afterward, so I'm assuming I got it out. I thought if a bitty piece broke off or something then the blood would have washed it out?? Idk.

Sounds like cellulitis symptoms. It's possible it could be infected, too, though. Does it hurt to bend it or use it, aside from just the pain of having the splinter there? If there's pain and/or difficulty bending it, you should probably go to the doctor for antibiotics. With a deep splinter, it's hard to say if the wood had bacteria on it that was pushed deep into the finger. Better safe than sorry. I had a deep puncture in my finger last year that ended up getting infected and needing antibiotics.

No, I can't bend my finger down like I can the others. I can't close that hand all the way which is what is driving me crazy. The middle part of that finger is still swollen and hard which keeps it from bending. And it's a throbbing pain, not sharp or horrible or anything. I think the splinter is out. I think I'll give it a few more days and if there's no change, I'll go to a walk in and see what they say.

I hope this thread isn't coming off as whiny or overly dramatic. (I know, good grief it's just a splinter!) I'm typically not concerned with things like cuts or anything, just have never had a splinter cause a finger to become hard and red for so long, so wanted to know if anyone else had and if they did anything besides soak it to move things along. Thanks

However, if you notice red lines moving towards your wrist, get to the dr right away because that means you have a blood infection that needs treating ASAP.

My dd2 stepped on a nail. We assumed everything was fine. She had no issues until a few days later when she started saying she wouldnt walk on it and it hurt. Redness started and we took her to ER. She had blood infection ( not tetanus) and if we had waited another day it would have been in her nodes. She needed surgery.

No, I can't bend my finger down like I can the others. I can't close that hand all the way which is what is driving me crazy. The middle part of that finger is still swollen and hard which keeps it from bending. And it's a throbbing pain, not sharp or horrible or anything. I think the splinter is out. I think I'll give it a few more days and if there's no change, I'll go to a walk in and see what they say.

I hope this thread isn't coming off as whiny or overly dramatic. (I know, good grief it's just a splinter!) I'm typically not concerned with things like cuts or anything, just have never had a splinter cause a finger to become hard and red for so long, so wanted to know if anyone else had and if they did anything besides soak it to move things along. Thanks

I don't think you're being overdramatic. Sometimes the smallest things can really do some major damage. I really think you should go get it looked at if its painful to bend, and too swollen to bend. That's not a good sign.

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